This invention relates to a heel construction for use on footwear. More particularly, the invention relates to a heel construction which provides an optimal response for an individual wearing shoes provided therewith.
Although the heel construction of this invention may be used on any of a wide variety of footwear, it is particularly useful when employed on footwear utilized in the area of sports, and especially in the area of running or jogging. For the sake of simplicity, the heel construction of this invention is disclosed herein as it particularly applies to the area of running or jogging. It is to be understood, however, that it is not to be so limited and may also be used on any of a wide variety of footwear utilized for the general purposes that footwear are normally used.
In footwear technological developments, a wide variety of heel constructions are known and are readily available to the public through normal commercial channels. In general, the purposes behind such heel construction developments are multi-faceted, and among which purposes are, for example, the provision of heel constructions which enhance the aesthetic appearance of footwear to which they are attached, the provision of strong, comfortable and stable support to an individual wearing footwear to which such heel constructions are attached and, as well, the provision of a degree of springiness or bounciness which aids in alleviating foot fatigue of a user and also amplifies the physical motion of a user employing the same for walking and/or running.
An example of footwear employed for running or jogging which was developed to accomplish such purposes is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,342,158 which discloses a coned disk spring formed of a plastic material on a vertical stack of operatively coupled cone disk springs which can be embedded in a conventionally shaped heel formed of a resilient material. On the other hand, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,267,648; 3,886,674; 2,998,661; 2,669,038; 2,454,951; 2,441,039; 2,299,009; 968,020 and French Pat. No. 1,227,420 disclose heel constructions employing a wide variety of spring arrangements generally used for shock absorbing purposes. Still further, U.S. Pat. No. 2,387,334 discloses a heel lift employing a spring for shock absorbing purposes in order to make walking more comfortable. In addition, U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,582,551 and 2,252,404 disclose detachable heel constructions having particular physical configurations.
While previous developments and designs, such as those referred to above, as well as other developments and designs of heel constructions, have enjoyed from limited to wide commercial acceptance, most of the designs developed still exhibit various drawbacks or disadvantages of one type or another. For example, among the disadvantages such designs exhibit are only a limited degree of stability, a limited degree of comfort, somewhat complex physical construction arrangements, a relatively limited useful life which results in frequent replacement and, as well, in most instances no optimal response, or at most only a limited optimal response for an individual employing the same.
There exists, therefore, a need for a heel construction which does not exhibit the above-mentioned disadvantages among others. The present invention fulfills this need.